


Peace and Quiet

by laurus_nobilis



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post-Recovery Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:06:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21891781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurus_nobilis/pseuds/laurus_nobilis
Summary: Shuri checks on Bucky while he's recovering.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Shuri
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21
Collections: Happy Belated Treatmas 2019





	Peace and Quiet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ultra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [Ultra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/pseuds/Ultra) in the [happy_belated_treatmas_2019](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/happy_belated_treatmas_2019) collection. 



Bucky was slicing fruit when she arrived. He looked almost peaceful, sitting in the sun in front of his house and filling a bowl with delicious food for himself, but as Shuri came closer she could see his expression was one of complete focus. He wasn't having any trouble using just one hand, quite the contrary. His knifework was quick and efficient.

"Well," she said by way of greeting, "it looks like your motor skills are fine."

He nodded without looking up and sank the knife into another fruit.

"I'm used to doing things with one hand," he replied, because his reading between the lines abilities were apparently working very well too. "I was supposed to be just as good even if the arm was compromised."

Right. By now Shuri had learned that anything she said could take a fast turn towards the horrifying. Even the nice things. The fact that he'd said that so matter-of-fact made it even worse. She tried not to think too hard about what he'd left unsaid and tilted her head, pretending to be considering the situation.

"I guess you don't need any help, then."

Bucky looked thoughtful for a moment. She hadn't expected that; it was meant to be a joke. But she waited to hear what he was mulling over.

"Not really." He hesitated, and stared at the fruit he was currently working on. "But I wouldn't mind, either."

"I'll go get another knife, then."

He nodded, without a word, and didn't turn to watch Shuri enter his house. That was a good sign too, as small as it looked. No trust issues there - at least not with her. But it was more general than that, she thought. T'Challa had told her, more than a little regretful, about how Bucky had been like when he'd first met him. Not that long ago he'd been the kind of person who was ready to jump off a building and run for it with nothing but a go bag. Now he was living with his door quite literally wide open. The village suited him. Shuri had to admit that she couldn't relate to that: she was sure that she'd be bored out of her mind if she had to stay here for more than a few days, away from the rush of her labs. But it was clear to anyone who paid attention that Bucky enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Going to the kitchen and coming back outside only took Shuri a few moments, but it was enough for a small crowd of children to gather around Bucky. The youngest one was in the process of climbing on his shoulders.

"I told you not to bother him!" she said, but she couldn't hide the amusement in her voice no matter how authoritative she tried to sound. They laughed and moved along, running off to wherever it was they had been going in the first place.

"I don't mind them, you know," Bucky said when they were alone again. For the first time since her arrival, he was smiling.

"You could have told them to stay."

She sat down beside him and started helping with the fruit. There was still a lot of it. But it made sense: with the way his metabolism worked, of course he'd end up eating the world's biggest fruit salad.

"Not right now," he replied. "You're here for work. I just don't want to discourage them."

"I don't think that's possible," Shuri told him. "They've taken a liking to you."

"There's no accounting for taste," he said. It sounded like a joke, but Shuri knew him well enough not to buy that. 

"Do _you_ like them?" she asked instead of pursuing that line of thought. It was safer ground, and it worked. Bucky's smile was growing again.

"Yeah. They're nice. Keep me on my toes, too."

"Good. That helps."

They sat there for a while, working together without speaking, until Bucky broke the silence again.

" _Aren't_ you here for work?" he asked. "Not that I'm not enjoying this, but…"

"Of course I am. I've been making mental notes on you since I arrived," she said. Then she frowned. "Wait, that sounded creepy."

"A little," he agreed. "Not the worst I've heard."

"You have a horrible sense of humor!"

She elbowed him on the ribs, which wasn't the most professional thing to do to someone who was still technically her patient, but he deserved it. His only reaction was to grin at her. It was weird, how much he reminded her of T'Challa sometimes. Their actual personalities were very different, but they both had this quality about them, something that Shuri could only describe as a general big brother vibe. The kids must have noticed it, too. It was no wonder they liked him, even if Bucky himself found it surprising. Seeing him like this, it was hard to believe that he used to be the world's most dangerous assassin. That he still _could_ be dangerous, if he chose to. But he didn't.

She must have been staring, because he gave her a sideways look, still amused.

"Making mental notes again?" 

Shuri grinned right back at him.

"Wouldn't you like to know."


End file.
